Thanks for the in-depth review. What do you mean by it doesn’t work on chess.com? Maybe I am mistaken but I thought the Chessup was supposed to be compatible with lichess and chess.com?
Chessup Review
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u0y wrote:
Thanks for the in-depth review. What do you mean by it doesn’t work on chess.com? Maybe I am mistaken but I thought the Chessup was supposed to be compatible with lichess and chess.com?
Possibly on an android device but on my iPhone the only online choice is Lichess.
ChessUp connectivity to chess.com is a work in progress.
Based on my experience using its Android app its buggy as of this time (Dec 2022). No Windows driver at the moment, which means you can't use ChessUp with Windows apps such as Shredder, HIARCS, Lucas Chess, Fritz and Chessbase.
Just a quick update - the two problems I mentioned in my review have not happened in my last 5 or 6 games. Hopefully they are all ironed out. I have joined the Bryte Labs forums and I see a lot of feedback from the developers who seem to be keen on ironing out any problems.
Had the board for about 1 month. My experience is definitely different. Had a much better experience with their competitor. This board kind of frustrates me, especially because of it's price point.
I have a question, is there a way to make the best move/blunder lights be coloured the same way? I just want to see the possible moves, blundering and finding the best moves by yourself is also part of the game.
alex_skh wrote:
I have a question, is there a way to make the best move/blunder lights be coloured the same way? I just want to see the possible moves, blundering and finding the best moves by yourself is also part of the game.
There are different levels of assistance.
I've sent up so that I only see possible moves, whilst my opponent (5 year old) can see the difference between best, ok and blunder moves.
The latest version (v2.5.13) of Khadim's WhitePawn app now supports the ChessUp board:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.khad.white_pawn&hl=en
Is there any benefits to playing on a computerized chess board like this one or others, versus just playing the AI's here on chess.com?
It all comes down to how you feel about playing on a physical board vs a screen. My first 25 years as a player were strictly over a physical board, so for me, a physical board feels better, so I've played more since getting an e-board. For someone who has only ever played on a screen, playing on a physical board may feel disorienting.
I saw a black Friday sale for $100 off the Chessup so I bought one. I have been using it almost daily for the last week and here are my thoughts…
It is a very solid unit. I like the heft – it feels… Durable. The on/off switch (a rocker) is easily accessible, unlike other smart boards I have used. Calibration is easy as are updates to the firmware. The battery life is very good. I charged it up to full when I first received it (it took about 2 hours) and have not had to charge it since. It has a USB C charging port which I really like. The pieces are okay. Of all the smart boards I own the Chessup pieces are probably the worst, but they are still perfectly playable. I have never been really finicky about pieces. I AM finicky about things working smoothly.
I use an iPhone with it. It works on Lichess but not on Chess.com
I have played many games of chess on it and, once the game started (see below), the board has responded perfectly. Not one missed move or failed piece recognition. I also did a “knock over a piece” test which it passed with flying colors. Let me elaborate. On other boards, if I accidentally knocked a piece over, the board would freak out and it would take me a bit to get the board back on track. Not so with the Chessup. Likewise, if I made a wrong move, it would simply flash the squares until I made the correct move. I have had other boards freak on things like this.
The app is okay. It recognizes the board instantly and the begins play smoothly.
The two problems I have encountered with the app/board are as follows-
In one game I thought the player had simply stopped playing but did not officially resign. This is not unusual, and I am pretty sure it has happened to all of us at one time or another. While waiting for his clock to run out I decided to check the game on Lichess and saw that the other player did in fact resign but the Chessup app failed to notify me.
Sometimes, when I power up the Chessup to start a new game, the board does not think all the pieces are on the board and tells me so with flashing lights. Picking them up and putting them back down did not work. Once I removed all the pieces and then put them back on the board it worked, and I could start a game. Once the games actually start, I have had no problems. What I do now is just leave the pieces off the board when I am finished with a game instead of putting them all back.
I have notified the company about these two problems, and I noticed that others have as well so it is a known issue and not just my board. Fingers crossed that they get these problems fixed. It is a fairly new product, so I am hopeful. These two issues do not, in my opinion, detract from my enjoyment of the smart board. Of all the smart boards I own the Chessup is now my favorite and I continue to use it daily.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.
Laser